- Irina Privalova
Irina Anatoljewna Privalova ( _ru. Ирина Анатольевна Привалова; née Sergeyeva on
November 22 ,1968 inMalakhova ) is aRussia n athlete.She first competed in the sprint events, winning two Olympic medals in the 100 m and 200 m in 1992 whilst representing the
Unified Team . Irina Privalova had been a formidable competitor during most of the 1990s but had not yet won an outdoor world championship gold medal. In 2000, she gambled successfully and switched to the 400 m hurdles discipline winning the Olympic title inSydney 2000 in 53.02 s and a bronze in the 4 x 400 m relay team for Russia. It has been suggested that this change at the late age of 31 was due to the fact that her chances of defeatingMarion Jones (the overwhelming favourite for the 100 m/200 m double) was slim and the 400 m also being a repeat showdown betweenMarie-Jose Perec andCathy Freeman from the 1996 Atlanta Games. (Ironically, that repeat showdown would not happen after Perec left the Sydney games.)Irina Privalova is currently the world indoor record holder in the 50 m (5.96 s), 60 m (6.92 s) sprints. She has also been the world indoor champion at the 60 m (7.02 s in 1991), 200 m (22.15 s in 1993), and 400 m (50.23 s in 1995) events.
Privalova is still running, achieving her best time in the 100m for nine years this year (2008), and the third fastest time by a Russian so far in 2008 despite the fact that she is almost 40 years old. [cite web |url=http://www.iaaf.org/athletes/biographies/country=RUS/athcode=62916/index.html |title=IAAF Profile |accessdate=2008-07-26]
References
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